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Could Cardinal Prevost be the first American pope?Seemingly out of nowhere, Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost is being discussed as a serious candidate in the upcoming conclave.Why this piece is important: Prevost is being seriously considered as a papal candidate—but questions surround his silence and his actions as Prefect for the Dicastery of Bishops. The big picture: Prevost has cooperated in advancing Francis’ agenda, facilitated the appointment of heterodox bishops throughout the world, and tacitly denied the traditional teaching on the episcopate. Flashpoint: He oversaw the deposition of the most conservative U.S. bishop (Strickland) and the appointment of a notorious liberal...

New Pope Elected.

White smoke poured out of the Sistine Chapel chimney Thursday, signaling that a pope has been elected to lead the Catholic Church. That means the winner secured at least 89 votes of the 133 cardinals participating in the conclave to elect a successor to Pope Francis. The crowd in St. Peter’s Square erupted in cheers.

White smoke has risen above the Sistine Chapel, the signal that cardinals have chosen a new pope on the second day of the conclave.

Black smoke rose from a Sistine Chapel chimney Thursday morning, indicating that the second ballot of the papal conclave that began on Wednesday has not produced a new pope. The smoke appeared at around 11:50 a.m. local time at the Vatican in Rome, according to Vatican News, which notes that the cardinals broke for lunch and resumed around 2 p.m. Around 15,000 people were gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the announcement. The smoke first emanated from the chimney starting at around 9 p.m. local time on Wednesday night after the first ballot. Around 45,000 people gathered for the first...

No pope was elected after a first ballot of the papal conclave on Wednesday, as black smoke billowed out of a chimney of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. The smoke emanated from the chimney starting at around 9 p.m. local time in Rome, signaling an end to the first day of the conclave. Around 45,000 people gathered in St. Peter’s Square to await the announcement, which was initially thought to come after 7 p.m. local time, according to Vatican News. Subscribe "Our role here is to pray and to join with other Christians, other Catholics, to pray for the...

[Catholic Caucus] What To Do During The ConclaveThe last couple weeks were the important ones for any hope of influence. Media articles lifting up good cardinals. Reports exposing bad cardinals. We can only hope the cardinal electors talked with their sheep, read up on their colleagues, chatted with their colleagues on strategy and came up with a Plan A, Plan B and Plan C, if not more. But at this point, there is no more news. Media will be talking 24/7, but there is nothing to report until the white smoke appears. No one has a scoop. No one has...

Cardinals from around the world are at the Vatican to elect the next leader of the Roman Catholic Church. After each vote, smoke will billow out of the chimney at the Sistine Chapel. If the smoke is black, cardinals will vote again. If the smoke is white, the cardinals have made a choice — the church has a new pope.

[Catholic Caucus] The New York Times: "Catholics Who Prefer Latin Mass Pin Hopes on a New Pope"Main excerpts below:Catholics Who Prefer Latin Mass Pin Hopes on a New Pope Ruth GrahamThe New York TimesMay 7, 2025 (page A12)About 140 people came to the Sweetest Heart of Mary church in Detroit for the Traditional Latin Mass at noon the Sunday after Easter. Incense and organ music wafted through the ornate sanctuary, built by Polish Catholics in the late 19th century. It was a beautiful sunny spring afternoon, and the lilacs by the rectory were in bloom.In the pews, however, the mood...

[Catholic Caucus] The ‘worst’ outcome from the conclave may be the wakeup call Catholics needNever before has it been so obvious to Catholics who have a firm understanding of the Faith that many of the cardinals do not believe what the Church teaches.John-Henry Westen’s observation on social media this weekend helps us understand how the upcoming conclave is unlike any other in Church history:From inside the pre-conclave meetings with Cardinals it is suggested the Cardinal Robert Prevost is the moderate of choice. Think about this . . . As the head of the Congregation of Bishops he presided over the...

[Catholic Caucus] Bishop Strickland’s message just ahead of the conclave: ‘Passion leads to Resurrection’ The cardinals may elect a new pope who continues the errors, the silence. But their failures do not excuse ours. We must cling to the faith – not sentimentality, not nostalgia.Welcome back to another episode of A Shepherd’s Voice. This week, as the cardinals of the Church gather in Rome to elect a new pope, the eyes of the world turn once again to the Vatican. For many faithful Catholics, this is not a moment of joy or confidence – but of sorrow, confusion, and fear....

[Catholic Caucus] Tagle, Parolin and now Prevost, all Bergoglians too tainted by their record to be PopePrevost does not deny accusations of cover-up and regrets that information from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith has been publishedRome. Yesterday afternoon, while the eyes of the entire Church are focused on the upcoming conclave, InfoVaticana had an unexpected meeting with Cardinal Robert Prevost, Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and widely considered one of the leading candidates to succeed Francis.The Cardinal criticized InfoVaticana for publishing the full report detailing the serious accusations of cover-up of sexual abuse during his time...

[Catholic Caucus] Leading Freemason supports Cardinal Parolin for Pope, says Francis had masonic ties'If the Church still has a glimmer of rationality, it must elect Pietro Parolin as Pope. It is the only way to restore its authority,' declared Freemason Giuliano Di Bernardo.Cardinal Pietro Parolin is a leading Italian Freemason’s choice for Pope, and the former Grand Master of the Grand Orient of Italy has also hinted that the late Pope Francis may have been a Freemason himself.In an interview published by the Italian Il Fatto Quotidiano newspaper on May 3, 2025, Giuliano Di Bernardo, a leader in masonic circles,...

[Catholic Caucus] Cardinal Müller: We need a ‘successor of Peter’ not of one man’s ‘private ideas’Speaking to LifeSiteNews, Cdl. Müller firmly rejected the notion of trying to 'change doctrine' since the Church's teaching is for the care of souls, stating, 'doctrine is also a medicine.' Cardinal Gerhard Müller has warned that cardinals are called to elect the “successor of Peter” rather than a man who will continue “the private ideas of any previous pope.”Addressing the congregation at his titular church of Sant’Agnese in Agone in Rome on Sunday, Müller delivered his final pre-conclave thoughts to the outside world.A conclave, he...

Cardinal Sarah has more of a chance at becoming pope than you might thinkCardinal Sarah is able to bridge divides as an African who esteems integral European contributions to Christendom, and as an administrator of the contemplative tradition who is also learned.The former prefect for the Congregation of Divine Worship in the Roman Curia has emerged as an anticipated contender for the upcoming May 7 conclave. The prospect of a pontificate led by Cardinal Robert Sarah – a man of prayer known for his deep knowledge of and reverence for the entire Christian civilizational inheritance – is treated seriously by...

10 Critical Issues Facing the Next Pope Pope Francis, who famously advocated “making a mess,” applied that maxim to his pontificate, making it highly disruptive, divisive and tumultuous. The mess generated much understandable unease, consternation and, at times, disgust, especially as such a deliberate approach to governance has never been consistent with the Catholic faith, the common good, Divine Revelation, and the natural law. However, the flipside was that, like stirring a pot, it brought plenty of what had lain hidden in the darkness to the surface.And in so doing, it has the potential to equip the next pope with...

[Catholic Caucus] Parolin, the great manipulator who wants to be PopeThe former Secretary of State is currently in the lead, personally hunting for the missing votes to secure the papacy. And there is a manipulative management of the Congregations that prevents discussion of the serious problems facing the Church, and thus prevents the weaknesses of Cardinal Parolin from coming to light, from the Becciu case to the failed agreement with China. And the presence of Cardinal Zen in Rome....- Silvestrini's heir and Bergoglio's continuator, by Luisella Scrosati It is like the Synod, they manipulate the General Congregations. The disappointment and...

[Catholic Caucus] St. Athanasius and the Upcoming Papal ConclaveFor centuries, the Catholic Church has asked St. Athanasius’ intercession for defense against heresies and errors that threaten to undermine the True Faith. In particular during this interregnum period of Holy Mother Church (before the upcoming papal conclave on May 7), faithful Catholics can rely on St. Athanasius’ powerful intercession to beg Almighty God for a truly Catholic pope who will reinforce Catholic orthodoxy as revealed by Jesus Christ Himself. On May 2, the Roman Catholic Church celebrated the feast of St. Athanasius the Great, a saint also known as the “Champion...

How the Church’s Enemies Have Exploited Mistaken Views of Heresy to Essentially Guarantee Another Heretical Claimant to the PapacyDays away from the conclave to elect Francis’s successor, serious Catholics fear that it would take a miracle for the white smoke to signal the election of a pope who is Catholic. We offer our prayers and sacrifices for the most favorable outcome, but as we study the list of those cardinals most likely to receive serious consideration, it is evident that very few of them would have been recognized as Catholic by Pope Pius XII or any of his predecessors.Some sincere...

[Catholic Caucus] Here’s what the cardinals must do to cleanse the Church after Pope Francis’ deathSurely a holy and fearless man who loves the Catholic Church exists in the College of Cardinals?“And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all of them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money changers, and the chairs of them that sold doves: And he said to them: My house shall be called the house of prayer; but you have made it a den of thieves.” Matthew 21:12-17If ever there’s a turning over the tables...